Joint Submission to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee from Australia’s Disability Representative Organisations

1 June 2026

PWDA with Australia’s Disability Representative Organisations (DRO’s) made a joint submission to Community Affairs Legislation Committee.

This submission reflects shared cross-sector concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and the current parliamentary process. See below for list of organisations.

DROs support reform of the NDIS and recognise the importance of long-term Scheme sustainability, integrity and participant safety.

However, reforms of this scale must be evidence-based, properly sequenced and implemented with safeguards that ensure people with disability are not exposed to avoidable harm.

The current legislation does not yet provide sufficient assurance that these conditions have been met.

DROs therefore recommends that the legislation not proceed in its current form or within the current timeframe pending:

• genuine consultation;
• robust evidence and modelling;
• stronger safeguards;
• greater transparency; and
• demonstrably operational alternative supports and system

DROs recommend that the Bill not proceed in its current form or within the current timeframe. The Bill in its current form contains significant unresolved risks, insufficient safeguards and overly broad powers that require substantial reconsideration before the legislation should proceed.

Recommendations

DROs recommend that the Bill not proceed in its current form or within the current timeframe. The Bill in its current form contains significant unresolved risks, insufficient safeguards and overly broad powers that require substantial reconsideration before the legislation should proceed. Progression of the legislation should be paused to allow:

1. Extension of the Senate Committee Inquiry to enable genuine consultation and accessible engagement with people with disability and representative organisations to occur.
2. Robust evidence, modelling and impact analysis to be completed and publicly released.
3. Foundational supports, mainstream interfaces and transitional arrangements be clearly established and independently evaluated.
4. Strong participant safeguards and continuity-of-support protections be embedded within the legislation and implementation framework.
5. The cumulative impacts of the reforms on people with disability, families and communities be properly assessed.
6. Expanded Ministerial powers be amended and subject to stronger safeguards, transparency and accountability mechanisms.
7. Reforms be demonstrably aligned with government commitments under the:
   1. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and other human rights obligations;
   1. final report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission);
   1. NDIS Review Final Report – the full “interdependent” set of recommendations;[1]
   1. National Agreement on Closing the Gap;
   1. Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality;
   1. NDIS Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2028
   1. National Autism Strategy 2025–2031;
   1. Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031;
   1. National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children; and
   1. broader whole-of-government disability policy commitments.

[1] See p. ii of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2023, October). Working together to deliver the NDIS: Independent review into the NDIS: Final report. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/resources/reports/working-together-deliver-ndis/.

About our organisations

This joint submission is made by Australia’s Disability Representative Organisations (DROs). The DRO Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the Department) to represent the voices, experiences and perspectives of people with disability in policy, legislative and systemic reform processes that affect their lives.

This submission reflects shared cross-sector concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and the current parliamentary process.

The following Disability Representative organisations are parties to this submission:

• Australian Autism Alliance
• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
• Children and Young People with Disability Australia
• Community Mental Health Australia
• Disability Advocacy Network Australia
• Down Syndrome Australia Consortium
• First Peoples Disability Network Australia
• Inclusion Australia
• National Ethnic Disability Alliance
• People with Disability Australia
• Physical Disability Australia
• Women With Disabilities Australia